Slowly
by Nairobi-Harper
Summary: Phil and Dil really like each other, but sometimes, things come slowly.


**Slowly**

 **Chapter One**

Dil could not help but stare. The boy that he was watching was perfect in every way. Why, with his short, wavy, brunette hair, his muscles, and that smile, who would not believe so?

This boy was Phil Deville.

It had been a few days since Dil had helped Phil with his hangover, and the two were now closer. They talked and they walked to class together.

Phil had his imperfections, of course. His teeth were screwed, his hair was messy, and he had never gotten good grades in school. However, Dil was able to look past all of that.

The redheaded boy was surprised that none had caught him staring at Phil yet. He was also relieved. Most of the people at their school would tease him for being gay or spread rumors. That was not what would upset Dil the most, though.

Rejection was what scared Dil. If Phil were to reject him, he was, no matter how terrible this sounds, sure, that he would make at least one suicide attempt. That was why Dil never said anything about his feelings. It was better to sweep things under the rug to avoid getting hurt, right?

Yet, at the same time, not telling Phil was breaking Dil's heart. Seeing those girls flirt with Phil and wanting to punch them, but not being to do that without seeming as a bad friend or jealous. It was slowly breaking Dil every day. He knew that soon he would need to confess to Phil. Any day now. Any day but today.

Phil was not currently dating anyone. Dil had recently asked him what he thought about the girls who flirted with him to which he replied, "They're hot, but they're not my type. None of them really love me for who I am. I like to believe that I'm not just a jock or a chef, I'm much more than that." Dil had wanted to tell him that he knew that, but the words never came out.

He was currently watching Phil finish playing tennis with Susie. Usually, Dil would get the feeling to curse out whomever Phil was playing with, but he trusted Susie. Susie was just a trustworthy girl. She hardly ever did anything wrong and would never stab you in the back. That was exactly why they were friends.

One of Susie's favorite sports was tennis. She had taught Phil to enjoy it, too. Dil usually hated the sport, but when Phil was playing it… he loved the sport! Loved the fact that it even existed!

Unfortunately, Phil was finishing up his game of tennis. Dil had to glance away as Phil walked over to him, and he pretended that he had suddenly been _very_ interested in the ground. As Phil walked over to him with his hands in his pockets, Dil couldn't help but glance down.

"Ay, bro, you got any water?" Phil asked, panting.

Dil tried not to stare like a little girl with a crush and nodded. Instead of looking Phil in the face, he looked at his bag and fetched a water bottle. Phil didn't know this, but he would always carry an extra bottle for him every day. I mean, he wouldn't want to become dehydrated all because he liked Phil, right? Dil threw the bottle to Phil, who caught it perfectly.

"You have a good catch," Dil complimented. "Maybe you should try out for baseball."

Phil chuckled. "Nah, man, I'm a good catcher but when it comes to hitting, I either always end up missing the ball or I accidentally hit someone's window," Phil explained.

Phil didn't need to explain it to him; Dil already knew this. It had happened once when they were in middle school. Dil could remember the upset look on Mrs. Deville's face.

"Want to walk home with me?" Dil asked.

As soon as those words came out of his mouth, Dil felt embarrassed. He was sure that he was red as a cherry right now.

"Stupid, stupid," Dil thought. "You don't just ask someone."

To the shorter boy's surprise, though, Phil just smiled and said, "Don't be a goof, of course!"

As they walked home together, Phil pointed out things. It wasn't as if Dil hadn't noticed those things before, but he refused to be rude to his crush, so he just smiled, nodded, and pointed out a few things himself.

By the time that they had arrived at the Pickles residence, the boys said goodbye to each other for the time being. Their faces were so close that you would've thought they would kiss, but Phil left before that could happen.

As Dil walked in and threw his bag on the floor, he sighed happily.


End file.
